A Case Less Ordinary
by xrainbowraex
Summary: When something goes wrong in a mission, Jack seeks out the help of House to find out what's wrong. After season 2 torchwood, so no Tosh and Owen Season 1 of House M.D. rating may move up if this is continued...
1. And So It Begins

**This is a special fanfic for Hannah's birthday - It's been a while since i've written one! Constructive criticism, comments and reviews are always welcome :)**

Life is never easy. No matter who you are, or what job you do, there are always difficulties and problem. However, the average person usually doesn't have to deal with the paranormal on a day to day basis. And it takes a special kind of twisted person to find pleasure in life or death situations, and to relish the challenge. But when the two meet…

* * *

Captain Jack Harkness is no ordinary man. In fact, he isn't even a man, so he can hardly be expected to be ordinary. And at this precise moment, he is dead.

His colleagues (more like companions) Ianto Jones and Gwen Cooper are only mildly concerned as they continue to fire shots into the encroaching darkness. They were fighting an alien that had slipped through the time space rift running through Cardiff, and had decided to wreak havoc on the welsh capital. Just an ordinary, run of the mill day for Torchwood agents.

Jack swore loudly as he returned to life, pulling at the spike protruding from his chest. He rubbed his head ruefully as he stood up, gesturing at his teammates to cease fire with his free hand.

"I think we have a pest problem" He dryly remarked, calling out confidently into the reverberating silence after the deafening shots.

A loud buzzing noise headed angrily towards them as Ianto fumbled with a device. It had a dark metallic sheen and was adorned with several flashing lights. Eventually, as he got to grips with the machinery, the flashing lights began to extinguish themselves, one by one.

It was a battle of nerves, as the device counted down and the alien flew towards them. The fear began to show in Gwen's eyes, but she stood firm as the dangling legs reached for her shoulders. "Come on Ianto…" she willed him on as it almost seemed she would be plucked into the sky. Time seemed to move in slow motion, but finally the blinking lights ceased.

Ianto threw the device, grunting with the effort. The last thought that went through Gwen's mind was that Ianto threw like a girl. And then there was the blinding flash, before the indifferent, unending blackness.

She felt as if she were in an orb, floating in the ether like a bubble swept by the wind. Ianto was within reaching distance, and she called out to him.

"Ianto?"

"Ungh." He replied, disorientated and confused. He shook his head to clear his thoughts. "Where are…" he trailed off as he noticed a thankfully still shape behind Gwen's shoulder.

Following his gaze, she turned to see the insect-like alien that had been removed with them to this strange place. She remembered almost being taken by the creature and involuntarily shivered. It had been rather aggressive towards her, Ianto and Jack. Thinking of whom…

"Have you seen his lordship?" she asked Ianto.

"Who, Jack?" he smirked at the nickname. "No, all I can see is us, and that. And that is something I would prefer to be as far away from as possible."

Gwen agreed, and they moved away from the alien, half walking, half flying. A very unpleasant thought crossed Ianto's mind. If the device he had been using for the past 8 months sent them and the alien here, there were likely to be lots of things he would rather avoid.

8 months more, to be precise.

And none of them were friendly. He decided to keep his thoughts to himself as they drifted further and further away. It was just a theory – he hoped that for once in his life he was wrong.

* * *

Jack swore again as he felt the stabbing pain of his heart restarteing. If there was one thing he hated, it was this inability to die. When you had been alive this long, life became dull. Well it had been until he joined Torchwood. And fell in love. He smiled at the thought of Ianto, and then sat up with a shock.

If this was twice in one day, what had happened to his friends? Frantically, he scrambled to his feet to see three motionless bodies.

Panic, terror, anxiety; all crossed his mind as for a fleeting instant he stopped breathing.

Not after Tosh. Not after Owen. This team did not deserve to die. He walked over, hardly daring to look. Gwen first. He didn't even want to think about Ianto.

Tentatively, he reached down to touch her cheek. And smiled as he felt the warmth. "Gwen?" He called her name, over and over, shaking her.

There was no response. He felt for a pulse, and it was weak, as if he was just imagining it.

Ianto was the same, in a stupor. Filled with concern, Jack looked up at the slowly brightening sky, to the stars that always listened. Dawn was coming, and Cardiff wouldn't understand this mess. He quickly loaded the alien into the boot of the SUV and then scooped up Ianto, cradling him in his arms.

_In the darkness, Ianto's heart skipped a beat. He felt strong loving arms around him, and Jack's lips on his forehead. Then the moment passed. "It'll be alright." He suddenly said. Gwen looked up. "Jack will save us, I know he will."_

Jack propped Ianto up in the front seat, before buckling Gwen into the back seat. He kissed her hair lightly, before getting behind the wheel. He drove back to the hub with a heavy heart, eager to beat the rising sun.

He was just thankful for the fact that he was unaffected, for whatever reason. At this moment in time, it seemed to be the only positive aspect of the situation. Especially the part where he had to explain to Rhys, Gwen's husband, what had happened to them.

Self assured Ianto took charge whilst Gwen worried. It was an important job worrying. It raised all sorts of issues that sane, rational people missed out.

"What about toilets?" fretted Gwen in a singsong welsh voice. "I'm not just going to pee into the blackness!" She was usually cool minded about things, but the sudden absence of everything panicked her.

"Look on the bright side though, Gwen." Ianto said. "At least we're not afraid of the dark." He grinned inanely as Gwen pouted with a look of unimpressedness.

"This may surprise you Ianto, but I'm not the slightest bit amused by that."

"You know, I'm not completely sure that we have real bladders…" mused Ianto.

"And just what do you mean by that?"

"Oh, just try and shake my hand." Two hands reached out and failed to sense anything. "That's odd." Said Ianto, who, just to make sure he couldn't feel anything, slapped himself.

And then wished he hadn't. "Well I can definitely feel _that_" he winced.

Gwen grinned for the first time since arriving in this odd state. It was good to see that Ianto hadn't changed. His ideas were always logical, if not practical. "Do you have anything useful on you?" she asked.

The two of them checked their pockets. Mobile phones (sans signal), some chewing gum, seemingly impossible mounds of abstract fluff on Gwen's part, and to Ianto's chagrin, the device.

"This is almost as much use as that pile of fluff you carry around in your back pocket." he scowled. "That'll teach us to meddle with weird technology."

"Well I know nothing about this technological stuff, I've just mastered texting, but if it sent us here, maybe it can send us back too." Suggested Gwen.

Ianto brightened as he started to examine the device. "Umm. If you don't mind, I'll catch a few winks." Yawned Gwen. "I'd only get in your way."

Ianto rolled his eyes before murmuring his assent. He sorely wished he had his coffee machine. There was nothing he knew of that couldn't be made better by a good cup of coffee.

* * *

The following day, Jack found himself on a plane to the US, courtesy of UNIT and Martha Jones. Sometimes these contacts came in useful. But right now it was all Jack could do to stare into space. He remembered vividly the words of Rhys when he saw his wife.

"You just fix her, you hear? I don't understand what happened, I don't think even you do. But find someone who can fix her. I don't care who, or what they are, where they are… anything. Just. Bring my Gwen back." With those last four words, his voice cracked as he knelt down to hold her still body.

Harsh crackling voices from the intercom interrupted the memory, shocking Jack back into reality. "Just on the descent now Jack. 15 minutes until touchdown."

He had brought his friends to see the renowned diagnostician, Dr House. Dr. House knew nothing specific about the paranormal, but had treated some UNIT employees in the past. Martha had warned Jack that "No questions asked" definitely didn't describe Dr House, and to be on his guard. Some things should stay secret.

Jack set his jaw as he glanced at Ianto. All he could do is believe in this Dr House. He was the best chance they had.


	2. First Impressions

A red ball balanced tenuously on a cane held with one hand. With long practised ease, the other reached into a dark grey jacket and pulled out an orange vial of vicodin. With the familiarity that comes with years of addiction, Gregory House M.D. flicked the top from the bottle and slid a whit pill into his hand. As he swallowed it, the large red tennis ball was knocked unkindly from its perch.

"Hey, that would have been a really neat trick!" he protested sardonically.

Foreman answered with a raised eyebrow, "Your secret life as a circus performer will have to wait. Cuddy's sent you this case. She says it's important."

"More important than my audition for the Moscow state circus? I don't think so…"

At this remark, Cameron hid a wry smile, much to the chagrin of the blonde Australian seated to her left. "Do we have to go through this rigmarole every time?" he asked frustratedly, "We all know you'll take the case, so why pretend you're not?" He pouted and folded his arms.

"Because, winding up women gets their knickers in a twist. And that's a situation I'm more than happy to help out with."

Cameron rolled her eyes dramatically, as if to say "boys, boys…" Instead, she asked "What's the case?"

* * *

The darkness was broken, as Ianto cried out in surprise. His absent minded thoughtfulness was broken as he struggled to hold onto the device, which had started shaking.

Ianto's voice had woken Gwen from her uncomfortable sleep of eerie dreamlessness. She looked over at her friend to see him grasping the device tightly with both hands, knuckles white with the effort.

Suddenly remembering where she was, the reality of the situation struck her. The haze of sleep vanished abruptly.

"Ianto Jones," she said warningly in a low voice, "What have you done?"

* * *

House pretended to ignore Foreman as he went through the case. Two government officials from Wales, who both appear to be in simultaneous comas. Neither were responding to external stimuli, however their brainwaves and heartbeats were actively changing, as if they were awake.

"Easy, locked in syndrome. Next!" House stalked back into the office.

"Simultaneously?" Foreman shook his head. "Get an MRI to check for a brain stem legion or a cerebral haemorrhage. Also, get a lumbar puncture to look for meningoencephalomyelitis."

"I'll get a proper history, see if that's any help" offered Cameron.

Chase just nodded, and the two of them left the office.

Jack was sat in between the two beds, talking to both Ianto and Gwen, holding their hands. "You should have seen Rhys when I told him about this. He really loves you Gwen."

He looked up to a knock on the door, as Chase and Cameron walked in. "We just have to do a couple of tests on them. It shouldn't take much more than an hour" Chase told Jack. Jack nodded, as two nurses wheeled the beds away.

"If I could just ask you a few questions?" asked Cameron mildly. Jack put on his famous smile, trying to hide his inner thoughts of "oh no…"

"Shoot."

* * *

"I didn't do it on purpose!" protested the Welshman. "I was just trying to think of optimistic ideas, and then it started doing this!"

"Optimistic?!? Ianto Jones, since when have you, of all people, been optimistic?" Gwen said incredulously.

"I said I was _trying_" he explained. "I was thinking that if it sent us here, then it might have sent everything else here too."

Gwen's face fell, and Ianto knew that this was one of those times when it would have been better just to keep his thoughts to himself. Damn he needed some coffee.

"So, everything else that we've used the device on could be here?" Gwen said, in a forced voice of calm.

"Yeah."

"Oh Ianto. So that shapeshifter thing?"

"Yeah" he repeated wearily.

"And that shadowy cat thing?"

"Yeah." He sighed

"Right then… well done Ianto…" she blamed him, the only conclusion she could manage, after learning what they could be faced with.

"Me?! I haven't done anything! Now, would you mind giving me a hand here?" He asked through gritted teeth.

As they both clutched the device, an ominous growl reverberated around in the dark, leaving the pair in watchful waiting.

* * *

"When did your colleagues first start showing symptoms?" she asked, clipboard in hand.

"Well, it just happened suddenly at work." Jack said, thinking – well that's not strictly lying…

"No previous symptoms?"

"No… hey, can I meet doctor House?" Jack tried to deflect.

"He's.." Cameron searched for the right words, "busy in his office right now. He doesn't really talk to patients. Have either of them been abroad recently?"

"Only been in Cardiff. And _I'm_ not a patient." With that, Jack dynamically left the room and started searching for House's office, with Cameron in the trails of his trench coat.

"Mr Harkness?!" she protested.

"Call me Jack!" He called behind him, breaking into a run. He didn't stop until he knew that he had lost her.

He eventually reached the glass fronted office, entering the room to see a slightly greying, but undeniably handsome man. House was playing air guitar on his cane. Jack cleared his throat, and House opened his eyes to see a stranger in front of him. Unfazed by his charisma, he just said "Shhh. You're interrupting The Doobie Brothers."

Jack raised his eyebrows, and pressed pause. "Not any more. I'm Captain Jack Harkness, pleased to meet you. Thanks for treating my friends."

"Oh. Yeah. Just doing my job…" he replied nonchalantly.

"You were recommended to me by Martha Jones. That's high praise in my books" Jack tried to keep the conversation going. He knew that House had a brilliant mind, and he wanted to get to know him.

Before House could reply with a derisive remark, a man with dark brown hair burst into the room, only to sigh with exasperation. "You're ok… you didn't overdose…" he said accusingly, before registering the presence of Jack. "Who are you?"

Before he could answer, House cut in. "The antichrist. And I'm sorry to disappoint, Wilson."

Jack shrugged the insult off with a laugh. "Be careful with your words, you might speak the truth one day. I'm Jack Harkness, doctor House is treating my friends."

Wilson was too tired to be anything more than confused at Jack's affable reaction, so he just settled for shaking his hand. "James Wilson. I… have to go. I have patients you know." He said pointedly to House, and then left.

Jack watched House watch Wilson leaving, and smiled. When he was no longer visible, he winked at House. "Office romance eh? I've been there."

"Don't be moronic." defended House.

"I saw you check him out!" pointed out Jack.

"Did not!" sang House, in a childish manner, as he put his music back on, and proceeded to ignore Jack.

"Just think about it. See you around, House." Jack left the office, leaving House to think about this case. It wasn't living up to the dull first impressions.

Jack just wandered back along the corridors, going over and over what he could remember, to see if it would help, until he ran into Cameron again. "You found me!" he smiled guiltily, despite the icy glare from the brunette.

"Your friends are back from their tests." She told him haughtily, before walking past him, back to the diagnosis room. They had more work to do.

**Authors note - yes, i know, its been a while. I apologise if the tone has changed a bit, I'm just getting back into writing again - now I'm doing a science degree at uni, I don't have to write sentences anymore, so I'm a bit out of practise! As always, comments/criticisms are welcomed :)**


	3. The Making Of A Woman Is Her Ovaries

Ianto and Gwen were running.

Neither of them were completely sure where they were running to, or even if they were running anywhere at all. The endless darkness and lack of landmarks could mean that they weren't going anywhere. But they ran on, away from the growling rumblings in the darkness. Gwen imagined the streets and alleyways of Cardiff as she was running. The familiarity reassured her, and she could almost see dustbins and darkened doorways in her peripheral vision. She reached out to drag her fingertips along the wall as she ran, anticipating the feel of coarse brick and crumbling mortar. And then she screamed.

* * *

"Why are we doing this again?" asked Chase. "The lumbar puncture should have shown any nerve damage."

Cameron shrugged, and then imperceptibly flicked her eyes to the back of the room.

"Because the one with the ovaries couldn't run fast enough to get a history, and there wasn't a high white blood cell count in the spinal fluid, so meningoencephalitis is out."

Chase turned to see House leaning against the doorway. For once, he was wearing a white coat, and Chase wondered what he was up to. House only ever acted out of the ordinary to benefit himself. House followed his gaze, and pouted. "Sometimes, Daddy likes to play doctor too. And right now, Daddy has a new playmate…"

"If you're talking about Jack, he isn't here. I told him to go and get something to eat – he hasn't left their side in hours, never mind slept."

House limped to the lift to find Jack, hiding his annoyance at Cameron's obvious concern over Jack's wellbeing. And the suddenly, he was annoyed that he cared. It wasn't often someone intrigued him as much as this man. He seemed so young, yet old; friendly and enigmatic, yet lonely. And, aggravatingly, profoundly astute.

Chase watched him leave, then smiled slowly at Cameron, who was just beginning to test Gwen with electrical impulses. Cameron met his eyes.

"So, how _are_ the ovaries?"

The look of indignation could have cut steel, if it had not been interrupted by a scream.

Then, as suddenly as it began, it ended.

* * *

Ianto looked at Gwen in terror, uncomprehending. "What?" he asked concernedly. The tone of his voice held a hint of fear. That scream would alert anyone, or anything to their presence. Not to mention the device; this had calmed down considerably since they had been on the move. It was currently humming contentedly in Ianto's suit pocket.

"It felt like fire. My arms are burning. Or… they were. I'm not so sure anymore." She stared at her arms, which seemed to belong somewhere else. "I'm scared Ianto."

Those three words told the man that this was serious. Unflappable, ineffable Gwen was trembling in fear, and had somehow found her way into his arms. Despite not being able to feel that he was there, the closeness of spirit was calming. The tall Welshman kissed the top of her head.

"It's ok. I'm scared too. But I know we'll make it. Jack will save us."

They drifted, and the glow around them began to dim as the contemplated their fates in silence.

Gwen thought about Ianto's unwavering faith in Jack. When the captain left with the Doctor, Ianto was angry that Jack didn't even stop to say goodbye. But he was the one who always maintained that he would return. Right now, his hope was the only thing that was keeping the both of them from utter despair – however unlikely it seemed.

* * *

House ignored his pager as he sat across the table from Jack in the Cafeteria. Promptly, he stole a sandwich.

"Hey, that was mine!" Jack protested as he clutched his coffee to him. It was nowhere as good as the ones Ianto made, but Jack sorely needed the caffeine. Smiling, he added "You definitely owe me some sort of sexual favour now…" His face suddenly fell when he remembered that Ianto wasn't particularly in the position to be distributing sexual favours right now.

House gave a wry smile. "If you're into bondage and whores…" he trailed off. "What I really wanted to do was ask a couple of questions."

Jack grimaced.

"If that's ok." House added, after noting the expression.

"Shoot." Jack put on a smile, and prepared for the interrogation. He was confident of his ability to find his way out of anything.

"What exactly is your line of work? I know you work for the government, but then again I've noticed a few _interesting_ scars."

_**Damn those weevils… **_"Oh, anything from IT" _**not strictly a lie **_ "to pest control." _**Definitely true.**_

"So, any chance of animal bites? Or electrocution?"

"We've all had our fair share of accidents." _**Even if mine tend to involve dying. **_"I wasn't actually aware of what happened to Ianto and Gwen. I just found them." Jack felt proud. No outright lies just yet.

"And you all seem very… _close." _House had heard about Jack's kisses on the forehead, and his holding their hands.

"Ianto is my … boyfriend. And Gwen is a close friend, she has a husband back in Cardiff, called Rhys." _**I guess he is my boyfriend. I don't normally label things, but this is good. Weird, but good. I wonder what he would say about it.**_

House was hopeful. Not necessarily about the case either. Well, he had a few ideas, more like inklings, but it wasn't that. Anyway, the proof was in the medicine – everybody lies. It was Jack's casual admittance of what seemed like his sexual preference. Not that he was interested. Not really. It was more Jack's confidence, and the respect he commanded. Something that House had, but not in the same way. Regardless, hope wasn't something that was usually even considered by House. He had his methods, and they got results. And that was all that mattered.

The pager beeped again, and this time House looked. "Something happened." He told Jack, brusquely, trying to maintain his cold, calculating exterior.

The two men raced through the hospital, as fast as House's leg would allow.

* * *

It was dark and cold. And all Ianto wanted to do was sleep. So that's what he did.

Holding the exhausted Gwen in his arms, they drifted together.

Time passed. Or maybe it didn't.

They awoke to the sound of insects.


End file.
